Local TUV councillor Matthew Warrick 'deeply concerned' after tweet commemorating an IRA hunger striker was shared on Trafficwatch NI Twitter page

The page, which is run by the Department of Infrastructure, advises members of the public of traffic and road conditions throughout Northern Ireland.

On Thursday (July 13), the page shared a tweet from Sinn Fein MP Francie Molloy which read: “Our National Flag flying proudly in memory of Martin Hurson on top of Sawel, highest mountain in Sperrins. Died on Hunger Strike 42 years ago today. RIP.”

A short time later, a tweet was posted by Trafficwatch NI saying: “There is a political tweet apparently retweeted by @TrafficwatchNI – it wasn`t tweeted by this office – not sure how to remove it – this will be investigated (17:00).”

The tweet remained on Trafficwatch NI’s page for quite some time before being removed.

A spokesperson for the Department said: “The Department is investigating the matter including the possibility that the Trafficwatch twitter feed was hacked. Security measures on the platform have been increased.”

However, TUV Braid Councillor Matthew Warrick, outlined his concerns at the "casual response" of the Department and labelled the sharing of "pro-terrorist material" as "deeply concerning."

He said: “Traffic Watch NI’s Twitter feed should be a useful resource for the public to learn about problems motorists will encounter across Northern Ireland. It is, after all, paid for by the public as the account is run by the Department of Infrastructure.

“However, the sharing of pro-terrorist material by someone with access to the account is deeply concerning as is frankly the response of the Department.

“This is not a case, as the Department has claimed, of a “political tweet apparently retweeted by @TrafficwatchNI”. It was a tweet which celebrated a terrorist convicted of involvement in not one but three terrorist attacks which but for the grace of God would have resulted in innocent people being ushered out into eternity.

“Not just the retweeting but the pathetic response of the Department has caused gross offence to innocent victims of Republican terrorism. The casual response to a publicly funded account celebrating a terrorist is completely unacceptable.

“Anyone who knows the basics of how Twitter operates will find the Department’s claim that the account was hacked difficult to credit as well. Why did the hacking only result in this retweet? When did they regain access to the account?

“The casual response of the Department, seeking to brush it off as merely a “political tweet” suggests that the powers that be do not regard this matter as being as serious as they should.”